House Bill Would Loosen Coastal Drilling Restrictions
By CARL HULSE and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
NYT
WASHINGTON — After months of political assault from Republicans over high gasoline prices, House Democrats are preparing legislation that would relax a decades-old ban on oil drilling along much of the nation’s coastline.
The legislation, still being assembled Wednesday for a vote as early as Thursday, would also require utility companies to generate more power from renewable sources, provide tax incentives for alternative energy like wind power and institute new conservation programs.
The measure, which would retain current restrictions on drilling off the Gulf Coast of Florida, would repeal some federal subsidies for oil companies and seek to improve the collection of royalty payments.
“Our energy legislation will bring down gas prices, protect taxpayers, invest in clean renewable energy and provide an American-owned energy policy that the Bush-McCain Republicans have failed to deliver for the past eight years,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.
The proposal, coming as the Senate develops a similar plan, represents a stark reversal for Ms. Pelosi, Democrat of California, who had adamantly opposed a vote on an expansion of offshore drilling after being part of the coalition that has kept the coastal ban in place since the 1980s.
(Continued here.)
NYT
WASHINGTON — After months of political assault from Republicans over high gasoline prices, House Democrats are preparing legislation that would relax a decades-old ban on oil drilling along much of the nation’s coastline.
The legislation, still being assembled Wednesday for a vote as early as Thursday, would also require utility companies to generate more power from renewable sources, provide tax incentives for alternative energy like wind power and institute new conservation programs.
The measure, which would retain current restrictions on drilling off the Gulf Coast of Florida, would repeal some federal subsidies for oil companies and seek to improve the collection of royalty payments.
“Our energy legislation will bring down gas prices, protect taxpayers, invest in clean renewable energy and provide an American-owned energy policy that the Bush-McCain Republicans have failed to deliver for the past eight years,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.
The proposal, coming as the Senate develops a similar plan, represents a stark reversal for Ms. Pelosi, Democrat of California, who had adamantly opposed a vote on an expansion of offshore drilling after being part of the coalition that has kept the coastal ban in place since the 1980s.
(Continued here.)
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